K~Girl’s Food Travel Journal

WOW!

What a great ...

(well I can’t call it a vacation anymore since we’re retired)

why don’t we just say a GREAT time back home in the Islands!!

Were to begin?

My husband suggested that I not overwhelm you all at once. 

So I will just post in small increments. 

As I posted earlier, we spent the entire month of May on Oahu Hawaii, my home town.

We flew in on May Day, Lei Day, May first on Hawaiian Airlines, how appropriate, don’t you think?

Once we got settled at my husband’s sister’s house, I went straight out to get some goodies…

What we have above is steamed fish cake or Kamaboko

(it’s that pinkish colored stuff at the top of the plate)

Then moving from left to right, smoked Salmon Poke, Tako or Octopus Poke, and the Ahi or Tuna Poke

And yes Virginia, the fish is raw

And here we have some Mussel Poke, it wouldn’t fit on the plate…

to be continued ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koukouvagia 

Can't wait for more pics.  And while you're at it, throw us a poke recipe.

 

Mussels are one of my husband's favorites

Tako (pronouced the same as taco) or Octopus goes over pretty well too!

Edit: I don’t think that I have all of my faculties as yet…

Miss KK, it’s all about taste, right?

I just mix together a few tablespoons of Soy Sauce, a few teaspoons of Sesame oil, some rough chopped green onions and sweet white onions, some red pepper flakes for some heat and a sprinkle of sesame seeds

So,

The next morning, of course we woke up very early (530AM). 

Both my husband and myself were so excited to get to the BEACH!!!

ONE of our favorite beaches is at Ko Olina (above), where there are four different man-made “lagoons”. 

I packed up some sandwiches real quick like and we were off for the day.

We kinda got a little sunburned, so we took a day off the following day and headed over the

“Windward side” of the Island, KANEOHE!! 

(not all of this panoramic shot came out because it was so windy that day at Kailua Beach)

Actually, our first stop after going over the H-3 was to Kin Wah Chinese Restaurant in Kaneohe.

Where we got crispy Gau Gee (above) which is a won ton wrapped filled with a minced pork mixture and deep fried

And Coconut Gin Doi, a deep fried fritter like of mochi or rice flour dough and coconut in the center

edit: oops, I spelled it wrong, it's Jin Doi ...

As if that weren’t enough, we topped is all off with Almond Cookies

These would all be considered Dim Sum, which is eaten at I guess you would say brunch time

While in Kailua, we headed over to the spanking new Whole Foods Market and took a look around

Wait a minute, you need some beer with that fish!!

To be continued …

Quote:

Originally Posted by durangojo 

welcome back kgirl!  being back in 'lizard land' must take some adjusting to again, but oh so worthwhile i'm sure.....lovely photos..... got an extra place setting? guess michael's probably really ready for some pasta by now....with mussels...i know a nice little greek place in oro valley that sells huge platters of them!!! again, welcome back and i along with everyone else here  look forward to more pictures and adventures from you......i must say though, and i'm sure i'm the minority voice here, but the thought of eating spam just gives me the willies! saw a recipe the other day for a fluffy spam omelet.......hmmm

aloha,

joey

Aloha My Sista' Joey!!

Thank you so much for that very warm welcome back, and yes,

it's been an adjustment from the tropics to the desert...

Needless to say, my husband was looking for a condo to purchase! 

The prices, Oh My Gosh!! 

He wasn't believing me that food was SO expensive, that I took my camera

everywhere I went to show him.

And about that place with the mussels,

I think we went there with a great couple that we met recently...

Edit:

I forgot, Joey, I must have had Spam five different ways!  LOVE IT!!

Please tune in again tomorrow for more … I've got an an entire month's worth of adventures ... we had a BLAST!!

try wait, heh brah!!  it stay coming. 

aloha chef billyb!!  how you stay braddah?  next time you come wit us, heh?

HA!! 

I will always be a keiki o ka aina!!  

did you see how much fish now? 

Oh My GOD!!!  was $12.99 for Ahi poke, den, when we when leave, was $17.99 ... 

I when tell my ole' man, eat up brah!!  da desert no more this kine!!

As not to put you all into Hawaii-overload, I thought I’d break up the days adventure…

From Kailua, we drove around what is lovingly called “the horn” or the blow hole way back to town, where we were staying at my sister-in-laws home.  This is a great body surfing spot, but you need to be REALLY good in the water.  The current here is treacherous.  Not to mention that shore break, you could easily get hurt.

I forgot dinner …

We went to ZIPPY’S!!

Love the fried chicken with their chili.  We didn’t get any Mac Salad,

because now I know how to MAKE MY OWN!!

We did take out and I made us a fresh pot of rice and a salad with Japanese cucumbers (I told you about those before).

I had some forthought that same evening.  I knew that we’d be at the beach most of the following day, so I put some chicken thighs to marinade.  The longer the better, right?

Love this stuff!  I can not find this anywhere on the Mainalnd.  So it’ll be Korean BBQ tomorrow. 

But where is the grill?

I searched high and low, in and out, up one side and down the other, no grill. 

WHAT?!  Yup, my brother-in-law doesn’t grill anymore.

So I had to us the broiler oven.  I haven’t done that since my early 20’s when I first moved out and got my own apartment.  Well, we’ll just have to make do.  I wasn’t going to buy a new grill if it was only going to get used for 4 weeks.

To be continued …

Heh, many Mahalos cheflayne, I think that I'll ask our Safeway if they could bring it in!!

and love that tip, again thank you so much, this is why I love chef talk ...

Okay

This is the part I have been waiting to share with you all

Hawaiian Food, and not just any old kind my friends

Not that nasty stuff they serve at the commercial Luaus

I'm talking about the true-blue thing

Young's Fish Market on Kalani street in Kalihi

I would love for you all to read the back story to this joint. 

http://youngsfishmarket.com/

They use to be in a different location on Liliha street. 

Both my husband and I have been eating at Young's for many years. 

I can't remember when they moved, but I do recall the first time we went home, we had a heck of a time finding them.

But...

LET'S EAT!!

We go for the family-style of eating alot of times and this is one of them.  That way when you share, you can have a taste of everything

I could have ordered more, but we're here for a month, pace yourself Braddah & Sista' !!!

Above, working clock-wise from 12 o'clock we have Opihi; Combo plate; Squid Luau; Mini Kalua Pig plate

the little container above are the Opihi, prononced oh-pee-he, which are a limpet and yes, they are RAW

these are a delicacy

the are found on the shore break reefs or rocks and are extremely dangerous to collect making them VERY EXPENSIVE!

... and a little does go a long way

My husband's Laulau, think Hawaiian Burrito made of Taro leaves stuffed with roast Pork and Butter Fish, then steam the bundles, YUM!!!

He said that these are the best he's ever eaten and he's Italian!!

Above is Okinawan Sweet Potato, and you can kind of see the Pipikaula under it.  The potato is so not like what you think of...

Pipikaula is like jerky, but not as dry and stringy and tough

Oh My Gosh!!  Can I tell that I hade been SO waiting for this!?  Squid Luau

Take Taro leaves and cook them in coconut milk and then add super tender diced Squid to the party

I ate it all by myself!!  (did you hear my stomach growl?)

Poi with a sprinkle of Hawaiian Sea Salt, and no, it's not library paste

... and yeah, my husband doesn't care for it, but he's not Hawaiian, I AM!!

Above is what I would say is the perfect bite

a spoon full of Poi & an Opihi

I don't dare tell my younger sister where we went, she'd be REALLY upset

I Need A NAP!!!

This was a late lunch, we had a very small breakfast of cold cereal and juice. 

Did you figure out yet that we did not bother with any supper?

I could hardly move! 

I can honestly say that I had never been so stuffed in my entire life, but MAN!!!  It was worth it.

To be continued ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheflayne 

I have never actually used Wonnie's, I just remember seeing it in the store. Whenever I go the store I am like a kid in a candy store, wandering up and down the aisles looking at all the baubles, shiny labels, and toys. LOL, my wife won't go with any more because I take too long.

 

When I get home from work I will post the recipe that I use as a Korean marinade. Don't know if it is close to Wonnie's, but being nosy and on your recommendation, I will probably have to buy a bottle now.

Braddah Layne!! 

I must have been typing when you when post, dude!!

If you do have the chance, pick up a bottle and marinade some protein and threw da bugga on da grill, then, LET'S GRIND!!! 

Most Ono-licious!!

Grocery shopping in Hawaii was quite painful for me.

Having been away for almost five years now, I was simply flabbergasted!

My husband didn’t believe me, so I started taking my trusted digital camera

with me where ever I went from now on during this trip.

So let’s go shopping together …

We’ll start in the produce department

I got a little ill and had to move on

I didn’t buy any fruits that day, just on sheer principle

Let’s move over to the chilled case … Kraft cheese singles, OMG!!

So what shall we have for our “big Sunday Breakfast”?

In Arizona we have a nice brunch basicly, every Sunday

Bacon is how much?  And eggs? 

How about an alternative breakfast meat?

(as an aside note, I just bought this yesterday back here in Arizona for $0.44 per can)

In Hawaii, we love our Vienna Sausages and eggs, but a dozen eggs were over $4!!

Well, maybe our Sunday afternoon snack would be more reasonable of roasted peppers and salami…

DON’T THINK SO!!

Do you think a cup of soup would be more economical?

Or should I make so soup instead?

I spent $127, walked away with four, count them four plastic grocery bags

and none of the above was in them.  And that was only within the first couple of days of being here!!

I haven’t sat down to total up our grocery bill yet, I’m afraid to frankly.

To be continued …

This entire post is dedicated to Durangojo …

SPAM!!

We went over to Kaneohe,to one of our regular spots, Genki Sushi

What was there but Mini Spam Musubi, I just had to try it!!

I missed counted …

It was really six different ways …

Can you believe this is from the gas station on the way to the beach?

I was feeling a little peckish..

Above is Fried Saimin, and I did not know that my husband had never eaten this dish before.  I bought a mini plate for the beach and he ate most of it.  It’s loaded with goodies like SPAM, Kamaboko and Char Siu, ONO!!

Finally, we ate in the full service portion of Zippy's Restaraunt on an early morning call,

Fried Rice, eggs and SPAM!!

Once we got back home, the first breakfast that I made for us was SPAM!!!

Enjoy!

(and no, I have no affiliation with any of the above mentioned companies)

Eh Braddah Layne!!  How you was?

Too good, yah?

Fried Musubi!  That food truck event was awesome man!!

An old friend of mine from WAY back that I use to work with owned a truck and we saw a promo on the early morning local news and there they were, so just had to go!!

The food was MOST ONO!!

ChefLayne, have you been to Hawaii?

edit: oops again, i DO know how to spell, its the typing part i can't grasp .....

aahh, it's not that bad, is it?

during WWII canned foods became a staple and it just kinda stuck that way

my dad and I were the only ones in house that would touch the stuff

now they make different flavors as well as turkey ... who da thunk? 

@ French Fries, dude this ones for you!!

I found "your sauce" and it was great

it made an oven broiled steak taste mighty FINE

Sista' Joey!!

SOOO glad you liked our SPAM-o-Paluzza!!  GOTCHA!! 

I had to buy a new camera after our trip back East with Momma-Mia, I lost it somewhere between New York and Pennsylvania. 

My adorable husband bought me a Sony.  It does great pictures, doesn't it.

... and why were realtors traipsing through your lovely cabin?    

One morning as we watched the news for the weather and traffic, mainly to see which beach to go to, I spied,

Eat The Street put on by Street Grindz. 

The television station was featuring one of the food trucks and it was this gal that I worked with, eh, I know you!

She made ONO baked goods for pot lucks at work.

Red Velvet & Choco (I think this one had the Mac nut & white choco chip) Brownies

Combo plate of Garlic Ahi, Garlic Chicken and Steak (two scoop rice with everything in Hawaii)

I brought this one home for my husband

Mac&Cheese w/BACON!! And prawns (they're under all of that BACON!), this ones all mine!!

It was a hot afternoon, so hubby took a pass on this one …

 Too bad, ‘cause that Butter Mochi Pop from Onopops was DA BOMB BRADDAH!!

 Here’s some of the FULL SIZE plates that were available.

We mess around in the Islands with SAMPLE SIZED …

I was talking to one of the Chefs and asked why they didn't offer small plates, he turns to me and says,

"Sister, You like sample?  I give you, here come!"

I tell you, only in Hawaii ...

I didn’t make it to Leonard’s Bakery on Kapahulu Ave, so they came to me

this was my first bite at the food truck rally

It was a foodies delight! 

To Be Continued …